Vehicle-body and method of making the same



l. S. FRANKLIN.

VEHICLE BODY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, I919- Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET L vllllllzllllllllam I. s. FRANKLIN.

VEHICLE BODY AND METHOD OF APPLICATION FILED APR 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

//v VEN TUE! LU JW Patented Dec. 14, 1920.

UNITED; STATES PA ENT OFFICE IRA S. FRANKLIN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

' Application filed April 18,

To all whom it may concern; I

Be it known that I, IRA S. FRANKLIN, citizen of the United States, residin at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and tate of Massachusetts, have invented newand useful Improvements inVehicle-Bodies and v Methods of Making the Same, of which the istics of themetal and wooden bodies in .a part of this specification,-

following. is a specification. Q

This invention relates to,the seat-conta ning body of a vehicl e such as an automoblle,

a body of this character presenting an external surface of considerable area and having a smooth and lustrous finish.

The object of the invention is to enable a body having all the desirable characterments which I' will now proceed to describe andclaim. @f' the 'accompanyingdrawings formlng Figure 1 is a perspective View of an automobile body eonstructed in accordance with my invention. A I

Fig. 2 i s a. sectiononline'22 of-Fig. 1.

Fig. 3;is a perspective view'of the sill forming an element 'of the body shown by Figs. 1;and2.' v I Fig. A; is ;,a perspective view of a'former adapted for use inmaking thewall oncurb.

portion of the iformerinlplace in the body. I

on line 6'6 of Fig. 2.

on line 7--7 of Fig. 1. .Fig. 8 is a perspective viewshowlng the Fig. 5 is'a-transverse section showing the Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section sill provided with reinforcing member s;

8, and a ,wall lor'. curb formed showlng a'portion of the s ll, portions of Specification of Letters Patent.

shape around a suitable lformer, ofithe strips meetto from a joint 14, which'isprefer- VEHICLE-BODY AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME. M

, Patented Decalet, 1920. 1919. Serial No. 291,111.

the reinforcing the same parts in all of the figures.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 7 of the drawings, 12 represents a frame-shaped sill, and '13 represents a frame-shaped wall, or curb, united at its lower edge portion tothe sill, said parts being formed to constitute the members shown by Figs. 8 and 9, supplemental reinforcing members; and portions of the Wall, door openings belng formed in the latter.

The same reference characters indicate seat-containing and floor-supporting body of an automobile. In making the sill I employ any suitable paper board, such asthe well known binders board, preferably about onee1ghth or three-sixteenths of an inch thick. Said-material is absorbent, so that the .cementitious material hereinafter descrlbed SlIlkS into the surfaces of strips cut from the -material. This material is cut into strips of any suitable length, and about it four inches wide, and these are assembled side-bysside, and suitably bent to form a laminated frame-shaped sill. Before the strips'are assembled they are treated with a hard-drying cementitious ,material capable of penetrating the surfaces of. the strips,

of firmly uniting the strips,and of solidify-' l I ing by drying and thus rendering the. strips and the entire sill extremely hard and rigid. A suitable oementitious material maybe made as follows:

Dissolve in water one pound of casein and one and one-half ounces .of borax. Then make a composition consisting of five and one-third ounces of formaldehyde 40 Baum, and eight ounces of ammonia 28 strength. j When this" composition effervesee'sfit'is added to the casein and borax composition, the whole being thoroughly mixed.

.The paperboard strips are immersed in abath of the cementitious material above described until. the material penetrates the surfacesv of the strips, after which the strips ,7 are assembled and .pressed together. In as- F ig. 9 -is a fpo filp tiye ,view ofthesill shown by Fig thereon. 1

sembling the strips they are bent into frame such that their ends the length ably at theforward end of the sill, as shown wrappe z by Fig. 3. The said ends may be caused to adhere to each other by the cementitious material.

In making the wall 13 I employ sheets i of flexible absorbent material considerably thinner and wider than the sill strips, and assemble the' same side-by-side to form a laminated frame-shaped wall. I prefer to alternate sheets of textile fabric, such as open-mesh cheese cloth, or 'gunny cloth, with sheets of kraft paper, or other absorbent paper of about the thickness of ordinary wrapping paper.

The sheets'aresaturated with the cementitious material above described, the latter being preferably heated, and are then one at a time around a former 16, placed upon the sill 12, each sheet being drawn tightly and its ends meeting to form a joint 17 (Fig. 6). I prefer to first apply a layer. of textile fabric, then a layer of paper, then another layer of textile fabric, then another layer of pape and so on until a wall of suflicient thic ess is built up. Usually about eight layers constitute a suflicient number. Th lower edges of the layers overlap the outer edge of the sill, as shown by Figs. 2 and 5, and may be united to the sill by the cementitious material alone, or by sa1d material and screws; or other suitable fasteners.

i as

After the completion of the wall, the former is removed, leaving the body in the condition shown by Figs. 1 and 2. When the cementitious material 'dries, the layers and the entire laminated wall become hard and rigid, and the wall is adapted to be finished in any suitable way to impart a smooth and lustrous surface.

this-mixture shouldbe applied with a brush,-

each layer being allowed to dry before the next is applied.

The described coating may be bufi'ed, or sand-papered, to provide a smooth surface,

- and may then be finished by coats of paint I by ordinary scratches.

and varnish. ",The coating 20 separates the finishing coat of paint and varnish from the outer wall layer which backs said coating, so that the said layer is not exposed As, shown by Fi 6, the joints are staggered or out-of registration with each other, so that there is no joint extending continuously through the entire thickness of the wall, the latter being practically seamless or jointless.

Figs. 8 and 9 show with reinforcing members including upright strips 22 and-connecting strips 23, secured to the rear end portion of the sill and contacting with the back and with rear portions of the sides of the wall 13, upright strips 22 and 22 secured to side portions of the sill, and an upright flange or dash portion 24 contacting with the front end of the wall the sill 12 provided and secured to the front end portion of the v I sill. The wall may be formed by wrapping the sheets or layers of which it is composed around the said reinforcing members while they are supported against inward displace ment, either by their own stiffness, or by a former such as the former 16.

The reinforcing members 22, 22 22*, 23 and 24, are made by assembling layers of absorbent binders board, treated with the described cementitious material, and united under pressure like the strips forming the sill. The upright reinforcing members'may be united to the sill by the cementitious material and by screws or bolts 26. The mem bers 22 and 23 are preferably tongued and mortised, as shown, and united by screws or bolts 27 at their points of intersection. The

floor 30 of the body may be supported by the sill, as indicated by Fig. 2. A

The sill 12 may be provided with supplemental reinforcing members 22 (Fig. 10),

arranged to extend across the lower ends of the door openings .19 formed by removin the wall portions indicated at 19 a I claim:

1. A vehicle body wall or curb composed of layers constituting alaminated contin uous seamless open frame, each layer being of flexible absorbent sheet material and havingendswhich meet to form joints, and the joints of the several layers being out of coincidence with each other, so that the wall as a whole is practically jointless, anda hard-drying cementitious material absorbed by and uniting said layers and "rendering the wall rigid, and a rigid waterproof coat ing adherent to and covering the surfaces of said body, and having a finished external surface separated from the layer which backs said coating.

2. A vehiclebody comprising a body wall or curb, substantially as specified, and a the lower edge portion of said'wall, said sill being composed of layers of fibrous flexible absorbent sheet material, and a hard-drying cementitious material, which penetrates the surfaces of and unites said layers and renders the sill rigid. W

3. The method of making a vehicle body wall or curb, which consists 1n applying frame-shaped floor-supporting sill united to to sheets of flexible material a hard-drying cementitious material, Wrapping said sheets around a suitable support to form a continuous laminated practically seamless open 5 frame, allowing the cementitious material to dry, and thus solidify the body, and finishin the external surfaces of said body by bu ng said surfaces, applying to the bufied surfaces a pasty waterproof coating including a hard-drying liquid adherent to 10 and penetrating the said buffed surfaces and powdered material giving body to the coating, and finally finishing said coating.

In testimony whereof I have aifixed my signature.

' IRA S. FRANKLIN. 

